Smokers and nonsmokers were compared on three aspects of academic achievement. Although exactly the same percentage of smokers and nonsmokers passed the first-year university examination, smokers obtained significantly higher marks. Similarly, smokers achieved significantly higher marks in their final year examinations in comparison with nonsmokers. Finally, a comparison of the tutorial essay marks of the smokers and nonsmokers again showed that smokers obtained significantly higher marks than nonsmokers. These data are consistent with the idea that ambitious students adopt smoking in the belief that it will help them study and sustain concentration.What are the ethical and moral issues surrounding cigarette smoking? Smokers enjoy the effects of nicotine in cigarettes, which is a tranquilliser relaxing the muscles and calming anxious people under stress. Nicotine suppresses appetite helping weight loss by causing food to be incompletely digestedC but enhances concentration, being a stimulant16 Nicotine takes 7 seconds to be absorbed into the blood stream and reach the brain and is proven to be addictive.11 Nicotine products, such as patches and gum43 are expensive and not incentives to stop smoking and "should be free"32. Nicotine stimulates the heart causing it to pump harder and faster increasing blood pressure and putting unnecessary strain on the heart, leading to heart attacks.15 Smoking causes lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and heart diseaseG. One cigarette contains enough nicotine to kill a man if injected directly into the blood stream14. Smokers are reluctant to give up smoking a According to the American Heart Association there are an estimated 50 million Americans who smoke (1). Smokers say, by smoking relieves them of stress and relaxes and comforts them. In recent years it has been proven that the only thing smoking does is shorten a person s life. Despite, all the warnings by the surgeon general that quitting smoking may greatly reduce...